After the plan launches, you will be allowed to read 20 articles a month for free. If you’d like to read more than one article every day and a half, you will need to sign up for a digital subscription. The subscription tiers are broken down by device: $3.75 per week for Web and smartphones, $5 per week for Web and tablets, or $8.75 per week for access to everything.

Those already paying for the Times to arrive on your doorstep on the pressed flesh of trees will pay no extra cost to reread their favorite articles on any device of their choosing. For comparison’s sake, the current cost of a daily home delivery subscription is $14.80 a week (in my area, anyway), though they are currently running a 50% 12-week deal.

The very notion of a paywall sends chills up the spines of Internet users accustomed to getting content for free. But as PC World’s Jared Newman points out, the Times is charging for the delivery method more than the content. Any story you come to through social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter will not count against your 20-stories-per-month limit. Certain search engines will have daily limits on traffic, but the Times content will not be edited. The company rightly recognizes that word of mouth is an amazing advertising tool and isn’t willing to squash it.

Will you be subscribing? Or will you be relying on Twitter feeds and Facebook friends? Sound off in the comments below.